He's fragile
by ScareGlow
Summary: After the final battle, Ron feels that it is his brotherly duty to both Harry and Ginny to have a little talk with his sister... Pairings: HP/GW, RW/HG. Read and review please!


Disclaimer: I don't own anything, and I don't earn anyting, either; I'm just having fun with the characters. :)

It's been quite a while since I've written anything, but this little one-shot just wanted to be written, so here it is! Enjoy, and feel free to leave some feedback!

Last AN: This takes place immeadiately after book 7 (minus the epilogue)!

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"And quite honestly," Harry said, "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."

Neither Ron nor Hermione could or would argue with that, in fact they exchanged a small smile at those words. Saying good-bye to Dumbledore's portrait, the trio left the office.

Harry felt every muscle in his body as he moved down the stairs, but he ignored the pain (which seemed to have become a permanent companion by now) in favour of speed. He felt that his two best friends wanted and needed some time alone, and he could do with some sleep himself, so he headed towards the Gryffindor common room and was relieved to hear Ron's and Hermione's footsteps grow fainter behind him.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, said two stopped and exchanged a look.

"I think he needs some time alone," Hermione muttered quietly.

Ron simply nodded. As Hermione turned to him and opened her mouth to say something else, though, he looked seriously at her and said, "Sorry, Mione, but there is something I need to do. It's really important, family business."

Hermione seemed a little surprised, but nodded. "Meet me in the common room later?"

"Definitely." With that, he turned and headed back towards the Great Hall.

He was on his way to the huge doors (or what was left of them), when he noticed the person he needed to talk to leaving. "Oi, Ginny! Wait!"

The youngest Weasley stopped and turned. "What is it, Ron?" she asked with an obvious amount of impatience in her voice.

Ron sighed. "You want to go to Harry, right?"

"So?" she asked rather testily.

"Never mind; come with me." And he half-dragged her into an empty and not quite entirely destroyed class-room, closing the door behind them.

"Now what?" Ginny asked, clearly confused, but with a hint of her former impatience.

"Sit."

"Ron, I –"

"Sit!"

To the surprise of probably both of them, Ginny actually sat down.

"Listen, Gin, this is really important, and I'm horrible at such speeches, so just bear with me, okay?" He drew a deep breath, while his sister watched him with raised eye-brows. "I know you like Harry… a lot."

"Well spotted, big brother," came the sarcastic reply.

"Please, Gin, not now, okay?" His seriousness seemed to impress her, because she didn't reply. "As I said, I know you like Harry a lot, and I'm fine with that." At her raised eye-brow, he continued. "I really am, but you need to know a few things abut Harry." She opened her mouth, but Ron was faster. "No, listen! Harry…" He sighed. "I know you want to go to him, curse him into next week for frightening you like he did tonight, then snog him senseless because he's still alive, and I really can't let you do that." Ginny merely gaped at him. "I kept an eye on him this year, you know? I… Sometimes at night, when he thought I wasn't looking, I could see him watch the Marauder's Map. He really missed you, Ginny… a lot." It was very apparent that these words hadn't come easily, but Ginny had no time to marvel at them, as Ron soldiered on. "And believe me, I also nearly broke down when I thought he was dead. – No, I didn't know about that plan of his, either. – It… it really broke my heart, seeing him there on the ground. But there's one thing you need to understand, Ginny." He looked intently into her eyes. "Harry would never have done that if it had not been absolutely necessary to beat V-Voldemort. Never, you understand?" She nodded, shocked because of the intensity of his words. "He… he's had it really hard all his life, you know? Do you know why he loves the Burrow so much?" But he didn't wait for an answer. "Because there he saw what family really means for the first time. His muggle relatives always treated him like dirt, so… And he's always lost those that were important to him: his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin…" He took another deep breath. "So if you take that famous Weasley temper of yours and scream at him and curse him… I don't think he could take it, especially not now. He's fragile, you know, even if it doesn't seem like it. So I can't let you do that, Ginny. You're my sister and I love you, but if you hurt him now, he'd break, and I'll never forgive you if that happens."

She didn't know what to say. Seeing her brother so fiercely defend the man she loved brought tears to her eyes. "Ron…"

But he ignored her. "If you go to him, hold him, tell him everything's fine, be there for him, whatever. He's been shouted at all his life by people, and I think… I think he's still learning that shouting at someone doesn't mean not loving someone. So you really need to keep your temper in check and just… just love him. If you can't do that, I can't let you go to him." He shrugged a little self-consciously. "Yeah, well… that's all I wanted to say."

There was a moment's pause, before Ginny closed the distance between them and hugged her brother fiercely. "I won't hurt him, I promise," she whispered, a few tears escaping.

Ron visibly relaxed. "Thank goodness. I mean, I said I'd stop you, but blimey! How should I've done that? Your bat bogey hex would've done me in!"

She had to laugh at that, and letting go of him, she saw that he was smiling, too.

"Much better," he said. At her confused expression, he elaborated. "It's better if you laugh. I don't think Harry has much strength left at the moment, so if we're around, we have to be strong for him."

She nodded. "He's going to blame himself for everyone killed or injured tonight, isn't he?"

Ron grimaced. "It's part of him, really. But perhaps you can penetrate that thick skull of his and convince him that it's not his fault. And…" He grimaced even more, "if you have to snog him for that, then… then do it, for Merlin's sake."

Ginny had to laugh again. "Wow… Did I hear that correctly? My brother Ron, Mr. "don't snog", the hypocrite –"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he interrupted, but there was a small grin on his face, too. "Now get lost, before I change my mind."

She nodded, hugged him once more and kissed his cheek. "You know, in rare moments like this one, you're my favourite brother."

He looked at her with a bit of anxious uncertainty. "Really?"

She had a flippant response ready, but realising that he was serious, her expression softened. "Really, you big oaf. And now, if there's nothing else, I'll go find Harry."

He nodded, patted her on the shoulder and then watched her go, before sinking into the seat she had used before, incidentally the only intact chair that was left. Rubbing his tired eyes, he didn't realise someone was coming till he heard a voice that startled him say: "I'm really extremely proud of you, Ron Weasley."

Looking up, he saw Hermione in front of him, her eyes wet and shiny.

He cracked a small grin. "Not bad for someone with the emotional range of a tea-spoon, eh?"

She snorted. "Oh, shut it, you!" And she leant down to kiss him.

He grinned at her. "So do I get kissed every time I tell my sister to go and snog Harry?"

She threw his grin right back at him. "Perhaps. But you might find one or two other ways of getting kissed, too."

He shook his head, still smiling. "I really love you, Hermione." Then, realising what he'd just said, he looked at her, frightened. Her tender expression, however, reassured him, as did her next words. "Congratulations, you've just found one of those ways."

And after being thoroughly kissed once more, he heard her whisper the words that instantly became his favourite words in the world: "I love you, too."


End file.
